NEWSBRIEFS (01/26/97)

NEWSBRIEFS

Meager results at CIS ministers meeting

MOSCOW - The January 17 session of the CIS Heads of Government Council addressed 17 proposed economic agreements but approved only nine of them, Russian and Western media reported. Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin declared that the council had approved an over-all concept for CIS economic integration, but Russian CIS Affairs Minister Aman Tuleiev admitted that Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan refused to support it, and, at the insistence of Ukraine, the document will be resubmitted to a scheduled January 28 meeting of the council. The daily newspaper Segodnia on January 18 reported that Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko criticized the draft concept's proposals for unified CIS trade, labor, transport, customs and currency systems, saying they contradict the Ukrainian Constitution. Predicting that Ukraine would not agree to sign the document, the paper sarcastically said the session had continued the CIS tradition of "paper creativity." (OMRI Daily Digest)

Belarusian, Ukrainian presidents meet

HOMIEL, Belarus - Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma met in Homiel on January 17 to discuss economic cooperation and controls on their mutual border, international agencies reported. The two leaders signed a communiqué aimed at simplifying customs rules and fostering ties between the two countries' customs agencies, border guards and internal affairs ministries. They also agreed to broaden cooperation in industry, especially in the manufacturing of farm machinery. Mr. Lukashenka said that "if the countries carry out the signed agreements, Belarus' relations with Ukraine will overtake its relations with other states." Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has been one of Belarus' main trade partners, importing $714 million of Belarusian goods in 1996. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Dispute continues over Ukraine's budget

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Moroz has expressed displeasure at the "new anti-Parliament campaign" over the passage of the 1997 budget, Ukrainian TV reported on January 16. Mr. Moroz complained that the government has ignored the legislature's December 19 resolution instructing the executive to revise the 1997 budget draft within two weeks, adding that legislators would not approve half-finished documents. However, the Verkhovna Rada has not yet passed the tax-reform package necessary for the government to revise the budget draft. U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs, following a meeting with President Leonid Kuchma on January 13, said the Parliament's repeated delays over adopting tax-reform legislation were "dangerous," Ukraina Moloda reported on January 15. The Rada's Budget Committee said a second reading of the draft will take place in late February or early March, according to Fax-Gazeta. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Defense minister complains about budget

KYIV - Oleksander Kuzmuk, echoing the annual lament of his predecessors following the passage of the state budget, has said that the military has sufficient funds only to pay for the salaries and provisions of the armed forces, Ukrainian Radio reported on January 16. He complained that the role of the army is not limited to "eating porridge and receiving a paycheck," but should include enhancing the security of the country. He noted that no funds have been allocated for the purchase of military hardware and that the army has had to sell off military assets to cover other needs. Last year, such sales brought in 32 million hryvni ($17.7 million), most of which was spent on building housing for servicemen and buying military equipment. Minister Kuzmuk said if the situation does not change, the army will be left with nothing but "national awareness and Kalashnikovs" by the year 2005. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Crimean Communists celebrate autonomy

SYMFEROPOL - Members of the Crimean Communist Party honored the anniversary of the 1991 referendum that restored Crimea's autonomy with a rally in Sevastopol attended by some 1,000 people, ITAR-TASS reported on January 20. The Communists also demanded early elections to the Crimean Parliament, threatening protests and strikes if the Parliament stays on. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Radio reported on January 18 that Ukraine's Vice Minister for Economics Leonid Minin warned that the Crimean economy is in a catastrophic state. Mr. Minin said capital investments in Crimea had decreased by 50 percent, and hundreds of thousands of Crimeans are affected by hidden unemployment. Crimean Parliament Chairman Vasyl Kyseliov said the continued decline in production raises the specter of a collapse of the peninsula's industry and agriculture. (OMRI Daily Digest)

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